Durban - Former police spokesman Vincent Mdunge failed his matric exams in 1985, as well as supplementary exams written in 1986, a KwaZulu-Natal education official told the Durban Regional Court on Friday.
Bongani Chiliza, giving evidence in Mdunge's trial, said:
“According to our records, no (matric) certificate was issued to him.”
Mdunge is accused of fraudulently presenting a fake matric certificate when he joined the police in 1987. He resigned last year, after the allegation surfaced in September, and was arrested in October.
He faces three charges of fraud and one of uttering.
Chiliza said the matric certificate Mdunge claimed he was issued with was invalid because the exam number on the certificate was 83, not 85, the year that Mdunge claimed he wrote his matric examinations.
Chiliza said the highest qualification Mdunge had obtained was a Standard Eight certificate.
Two of Mdunge's fraud charges relate to his presentation of the alleged fraudulent certificate to the SA Police Service when he joined the police. He earned a salary of R3.5 million during his employ with the SAPS.
The third fraud charges relates to his presentation of the alleged fraudulent certificate to the University of South Africa to obtain admission for a course to obtain a National Diploma in Police Administration.
Mdunge's lawyer, Saleem Khan, told the court that when Mdunge went to the education department's offices in July 2013, to have his matric certificate issued, the official he dealt with exclaimed: “There is something wrong. Someone has tampered unlawfully with his records.”
Chiliza said he could not comment on the allegation.
He also denied Khan's assertion that he had previously met Mdunge, or spoken to him over the phone.
Khan said Chiliza had met Mdunge at the department's Melgate building in Durban to discuss fraudulent matric certificates.
He said he would get cellphone records proving that Chiliza had spoken to Mdunge.
Before the trial got underway, magistrate Thandeka Fikeni issued a warrant of arrest at the State's request for a witness who had failed to appear in court.
Asking for the warrant, prosecutor Barend Groen told the court that Daniel Morape had been subpoenaed, but had failed to arrive at court.
The trial continues.
Sapa